The Sunday (Oct. 14) episode of HBO’s “Treme” is titled “The Greatest Love,” a Lee Dorsey song heard late in the episode. The story is by David Simon. The teleplay is by Mari Kornhauser and Chris Yakaitis. Ernest Dickerson is the director.

Antoine Batiste and Darren Lecoeur rehearse the Elie school band, performing “Papa Was a Rolling Stone,” a Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong composition recorded for Motown by The Undisputed Truth and The Temptations. Batiste is concerned about student Cherise (played by Camryn Jackson). Somebody forgot to pay the Entergy bill.

Toni Bernette interviews people about Officer Wilson, who broke a man’s jaw outside The Candlelight for no good reason.

'Treme' explained

These posts are intended as an episode-by-episode guide to the many unexplained New Orleans references in HBO's "Treme."

This post contains spoilers, it also contains a lot of information and links that might help viewers of the series better understand the show's characters and stories, as well as the city and time period in which it's set.

File your own review of this episode here. If you have an explanatory note to supplement this post, type it in the comments section below.

Review a comprehensive archive of the Times-Picayune's Hurricane Katrina coverage, including an animated map of the levee failures. In addition, these books, links,CDs, DVDs and streams might prove helpful. Also, go deep into the musical culture celebrated throughout "Treme" at Nick Spitzer's American Public Media radio series, American Routes. The show is produced in New Orleans, has a searchable archive and holds hundreds of hours of informative, pleasurable listening.

Terry Colson meets with Special Agent James Collington (Colin Walker), who says he can’t reach around the state on Danziger. The Bush people have this thing so politicized, no U.S. Attorney wants to send Washington, D.C., a case even with Alberto gone.

Janette Desautel and Jacques interview applicants (Dwayne St. Romain , Lance Franklin, Jay Morris), one of whom had some problems over at August. Applicant Kelly Beardsley (Jessica Caraveo) has worked for Emeril for three years at NOLA. Michael “Paw-Paw” Rouss, former executive chef at NOLA, now is director of culinary affairs at Salu.

“Mr. Crawford’s own career came to a premature end following a police beating in 1963. Only in recent years did he return to the stage, and then only occasionally."

Crawford was “a towering figure in New Orleans music, even though he only rarely performed music outside of his church after 1963,” said Blake Leyh, “Treme’s music supervisor. “His life story exemplifies so many of the currents of New Orleans music history: the transformation of folk music and Mardi Gras Indian chants into R&B; the brutal legacy of police mistreatment of musicians; the machinations of the music industry that too often left artists under-compensated; the intertwining of popular music and church music; and the nurturing of musical talent along family lines.

" 'Treme' character Davis McAlary was transported by joy and awe when he discovered that Mr. Crawford was in the studio. That's exactly how we felt when Mr. Crawford agreed not only to participate in the show, but actually to perform on camera, alongside his grandson Davell.

"It was an inconceivable loss to the city when Mr. Crawford passed last month. We take small comfort from the fact that we were fortunate enough to capture a beautiful musical performance from him which can be preserved."

At Desautel’s on the Avenue, Feeny interviews Tabitha (Ruby Lou Smith). The restaurant space is on the ground floor of the Carol Condominiums, 2100 St. Charles, originally designed by architect August A. Perez.

“That space has been quite a few restaurants, of which by far the most famous was The Versailles,” said Tom Fitzmorris, who runs the popular food website New Orleans Menu and broadcasts the daily “The Food Show” from 3-6 p.m. at WWWL AM-1350. “Before then, it had been The Emerald Door and Lotar's, both too-fancy continental places. After The Versailles it was the New Orleans Culinary Institute, which before Katrina had moved to the Eiffel Tower structure across Josephine. It sat empty for a long time after Katrina, then it became a sushi buffet. (Truly awful.) It lasted less than a year, and that's that.”

Creole Wild West is the city's oldest tribe, dating to the mid-1800s, and perhaps its most influential. Even the late great Tootie Montana, the 7th Ward innovator of 3-D style suits, had roots in the Creole Wild West.

"The Creole Wild West is the oldest, the largest. And let's add a third description: most consistent, in their suits and as leaders," said longtime Indian representative Bertrand Butler.

The chiefs would add one more. "We'd like to think we're the prettiest," they said.

“In its nearly 15 years in business, the New Orleans Musicians Clinic has been, literally, a lifesaving resource; its innovative model, connecting musicians with free or low-cost care, has connected performers with affordable access to everything from smoking cessation programs to full courses of radiation and chemotherapy,” wrote the Times-Picayune’s Alison Fensterstock in August 2012. “To keep its costs low, the clinic relies on grant funding and Medicaid reimbursement as well as private donations, and financing its work has been an ongoing struggle.”

However, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal’s decision to exclude the state from expanded Medicaid coverage via the Affordable Health Care act means that some of that funding will be reduced.

“Jindal is making budget cuts that jeopardize the well-being of all those we serve,” said Bethany Bultman, clinic co-founder. “Our best hope is to raise private funds from those who share our mission to keep New Orleans' music alive. Chief Lambreaux clearly personifies so many NOMC patients: hardworking folks who exist in a cash-based economy rich in culture and tradition, yet poor in access to prevention and early detection. Which is why African American men in New Orleans have the lowest life expectancy in the U.S., and rivals that of North Korea.”

With its performance on a blighted Lower 9th Ward intersection, Samuel Beckett's "Waiting for Godot" becomes very much a New Orleans "Godot," and its specificity is not a contrivance. On the contrary, it illuminates the play.

Christopher McElroen's staging is the most accessible, the funniest, the most moving and meaningful "Godot" we are ever likely to see. It is ours, it speaks directly to us, in lines and situations that have always been there, but which now take on a new resonance.

Manzay and Wendell Pierce, “Treme’s” Antoine Batiste, acted in the 2007 production of “Godot.”

“It was the most cathartic moment of my life,” Pierce said. “To stand where people had lost their lives and honor their memory moved me deeply. It was a memorial, a community coming together. I remember reciting the line, ‘At this place, at this moment of time, all mankind is us, whether we like it or not. Let us make the most of it, before it is too late.’”

Read more about the 2007 New Orleans production of "Waiting for Godot" and "Treme'" re-creation.